She's Having My Baby
by LeighKelly
Summary: Santana Lopez has the career that she dreamed of, but when she learns that she can't have a baby, she realizes that everything in life isn't work. Determined to have a baby of her own, she enlists the help of a surrogacy agency and meets Brittany Pierce. VERY loosely based on Baby Mama.
1. Chapter 1

**Month 1:**

If there's one thing Santana Lopez is, it's dedicated to her job. From the time she graduated college and took a position in the mailroom of a law firm through her completion of law school and the time she was offered a position as partner in the firm ten years later, she eat, slept and breathed work. The thing is though, because she spends so much time focused on her career, she's completely sacrificed her personal life. Girlfriends get tired of her inability to devote time fully to them and at the age of forty, she finds herself totally and completely alone.

She hadn't known that she wanted to have kids until she went to the doctor and found out that she couldn't. There was scarring on her uterus from a surgery she'd had when she was younger and when she sat in her car after her doctor's appointment, she realized that she was missing out on something big. When she came to that realization, it was accompanied by big ugly sobs that she never would have let anyone else see and she became obsessed with the idea of having a baby. She had more money than she ever would have needed but she couldn't do something that felt like it should be natural. Maybe if she would have settled down with another woman, she could have had a baby that way, but that wasn't the case and she had to figure something out.

It comes when she least expects it. She meets pregnant woman on the street—something that had begun to make her extremely emotional—and the woman tells her that she's a surrogate. Santana had never considered paying someone else to carry her baby, but suddenly that felt like the most genius idea in the world. So she finds an agency and she sets up an appointment, feeling incredibly nervous when she gets the phone call that they've found someone to match her up with. Her eggs are find, she found a sperm donor, so basically, she's just going to rent out someone's uterus to make her a baby.

When she sits in the waiting room of the surrogacy agency the day she's set to meet her potential surrogate, Santana is more of a nervous wreck than she was the first time she went to meet with Gina, the owner of the company. She smooths her skirt of her legs and tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She knows that she's paying for this, but she wants to make a good first impression on her potential surrogate. When she's nervous, she has to pee, so she gets up and makes her way to the bathroom. Just as she opens the door, she feels something behind it and a very angry looking blonde steps out of the way.

"Ever think that there might be someone behind the door before you shove it open?" The woman rolls her eyes, popping her gum, and Santana sucks in a breath.

"I'm sorry, I saw that the door was unlocked."

"That's usually what happens before someone leaves the room."

The woman walks away, leaving Santana flustered. She uses the bathroom and by the time she's done, she realizes that her name has already been called. She goes up to the receptionist's desk and she leads her back to a conference room. Gina is sitting there and much to Santana's surprise, so is the woman from the bathroom. Santana looks her over and notices that she's wearing a shirt with a picture of a very large cat on it and her shorts are way shorter than anything Santana would ever consider wearing to a professional meeting. Then it hits her, this woman is the surrogate and Santana's eyes widened.

"Shouldn't surprise me that you're rich." The woman blurts out and Santana pinches the bridge of her nose. Does she not care at all about making some kind of impression? Clearly not and Santana feels secondhand embarrassment.

"I'm Santana, Santana Lopez."

"Brittany, Brittany Pierce." Brittany seems to mimic Santana's voice and Santana looks over at Gina, expecting her to say something.

Instead of saying anything, Gina starts talking about contracts. Part of Santana has a really bad feeling about developing a surrogacy relationship with this woman who seems like she hates her, but at the same time, she waited a month to be matched up with Brittany and she really, really wants a baby. So she signs the contract and is almost surprised when Brittany does too. They even end up shaking hands and even though Brittany continues to pop her gum, she seems almost happy that Santana picked her.

A week later, Santana is at the fertility doctor with her legs spread on the table. Because she was trying to prove that as a mother she won't be as much of a workaholic, she takes the afternoon off of work. She can't believe that they're going to harvest her eggs today and that Brittany is in the room across the hall, ready to be implanted with these embryos and in a few weeks, Santana will know whether or not she's going to be a mom. According to Gina, she probably won't have much contact with Brittany during the pregnancy, except for the doctor's appointments that she's contractually obligated to allow Santana to come to, so it's weird that she won't get to experience everything about pregnancy that she would have if she wasn't infertile.

"Hey." Santana runs into Brittany in the waiting room after she is done with her appointment. This time, she's wearing a shirt with a bone on it that reads _I find this humerus_ and Santana is still a little confused about how to interact with her.

"Oh, hey. I guess you want to give me a list of crap I can and can't do while you wait to hear if I'm pregnant, huh?"

"You don't even know me."

"I totally know your type though. You probably eat all organic granola and nasty shit like that."

"I really don't know why seem to hate me so much."

"I don't hate you, I don't even know you to hate me. Just must be nice to have a boatload of money." Brittany shrugs, then turns away. "I'll call you when I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**Month 2:**

Santana waits patiently to hear from Brittany about whether or not she's pregnant. Even at work she's distracted by the phone on her desk and it seems like the only time she's not staring at it is when she's in court. She figures that Brittany would have called either way, but when she doesn't hear, she can't help but assume that it didn't take and they'll have to try again. The contract covers three rounds of IVF and the odds of it working on the first shot weren't necessarily the greatest.

She's sitting in her penthouse living room having a glass of wine and trying not to read too much into the fact that Brittany hasn't called when the buzzer goes off. Santana gets up and goes to the intercom and is surprised to see Brittany on the screen, a duffle bag slung over her shoulder and a Big Gulp in her hand. Furrowing her brow, Santana presses the talk button and announces to Brittany that she's on the other end.

"Can I come up?" Brittany asks and though Santana is sure this breeches some kind of professionalism in their arrangement, she buzzes her in.

"What are you doing here?" Santana questions when Brittany appears at her door.

"I'm pregnant."

"You're…really?" Santana's heart beats really fast in her chest and she feels like she's going to throw up with excitement.

"Nope, I'm kidding." She rolls her eyes a little.

"You could have just called, you didn't have to come all the way over here."

"Well, considering I have nowhere to live anymore, it wasn't exactly a big deal."

"What do you mean…you don't have anywhere to live anymore?"

"My girlfriend…ex-girlfriend threw me out. I've been crashing on people's couches, but when I started vomiting my guts up because of your baby, I wasn't exactly a welcome houseguest anymore. So I was thinking I could just crash here." Brittany plops down onto Santana's couch and put her shoed feet up on the coffee table. "Looks like you've got the space."

"That sounds…really inappropriate."

"Why do you do that?"

"Talk like…this."

"I'm taking some time to process what's going on here. You just showed up on my door step to tell me I was having a baby and then you invited yourself to stay with me. It's a bit much."

"I thought you were supposed to be happy to have a baby?"

"No, no, of course I'm happy. I've been waiting two weeks to hear from you. I just don't think you should stay here. I'd be more than happy to put you up in a hotel until you get yourself back on your feet."

"Jeeze, I'm good enough to grow your fetus but not good enough to stay here."

"That's not it at all—"

"I'd think you'd jump all over this chance, you get to feel your kid. Knowing your kind, you'd probably get one of those heartbeat machines, maybe have an ultrasound installed in the bathroom. Play Mozart and shit."

"I—" Santana pauses for a moment to think about it. She knows that this is probably the most foolish idea there ever was, but she can't help but be blinded by emotions. She'd felt really weird about a stranger having all of these experiences with her baby and now here this same stranger is, apparently homeless but giving her the opportunity to be part of all of the things she won't ever get to experience herself. "Just until you find a place?"

"Just until I find a place."

Santana has lived alone since college, so the adjustment of having someone else stay with her is really weird. Especially when that someone eats junk food and leaves the wrappers around, drinks soda like normal people drink water and somehow sleeps until noon. She still hasn't found out what Brittany does for a living, but it seems to be something with computers, considering she's always on it when Santana gets home from work. They're sort of like roommates who don't really talk to each other, but each morning Santana leaves Craigslist printouts of apartments on the table and every night she comes home to them still sitting there.

"Your kid is a monster." Brittany announces when Santana gets home from work one day. She's on the couch with a bag of Cheetos and a Coke and Santana fights the urge to grab both things away from her. "I've thrown up like…four times today."

"Well considering you're eating and drinking pure chemicals, that doesn't surprise me much."

"Um, these are Cheetos, it pretty much says in the name that there's cheese in them, therefore, healthy. And they don't put cocaine in Coke anymore so it's fine."

"Seriously? Did you see all the fresh fruit and yogurt that's in the refrigerator? I even bought sweetened coconut granola."

"Ugh, you're going to make me puke again, stop."

"Everything you put in your body goes in the baby's body."

"So why would you want to torture your baby by making it eat all that nasty stuff? Next thing, you're going to try to get me to eat broccoli." Brittany feigns a gag which turns into an actual gag which leads to her running into the bathroom to throw up. When she comes back out, she has her toothbrush in her mouth and she talks through it. "This puking is really messing up my schedule."

"What is it that you…do?" Santana asks, genuinely curious since she knew next to nothing about the woman who was staying in her house.

"Rifght nowgh?" She speaks through her toothbrush, then went back in the bathroom to spit. "I'm trying to get my dental assistant certification online."

"Oh. So you're going to school!"

"Yeah, I mean, trying to better myself or whatever. My ex was supposed to support me through school but she sucks, so now I'm pretty much living off the first installment of my surrogacy money."

"So you…don't really have money to find an apartment?"

"I mean…are you going to kick me out of I say no? I know I said this was just temporary, but I was kind of hoping it could be temporary until I have the kid and can go back to couch surfing. Seriously, you don't even know, no one wants a pregnant lady around."

"I mean…I do." Santana looks down, feeling a little bit of a sting about the idea that she can't get pregnant and yet here Brittany is, sort of taking the fact that she can get pregnant so easily for granted. "You can stay here, but we need to make some changes."


	3. Chapter 3

**Month 3:**

"You can't make me drink that!" Brittany screams. "It's disgusting!"

"It's water, Brittany, water. It comes out of the earth and you're supposed to drink a lot of it when you're pregnant, or…in general."

"I drink plenty of water! My Coke is full of it."

"Just drink it." Santana rolls her eyes. Brittany takes a sip and then spits it out in the sink. "You've got to be kidding me."

Santana sinks down into one of her kitchen chairs and rubs her temples. It's been a little…exhausting having Brittany around, but at the same time, she _is_ glad she said yes. She thinks about the fact that if Brittany weren't here, she'd totally miss out on hearing about wacky cravings or the time Brittany thought she felt the baby move but it was just gas. She's certainly an interesting character and while Santana probably wouldn't find herself being friends with her if they'd met outside of these circumstances, there's something she genuinely likes about her.

Though they'd at first sort of kept their distance from one another, now that Brittany's been living in Santana's apartment for about a month, they end up watching a movie together or just chatting when Santana gets home from work. Brittany has ended up telling Santana a lot about her family, about how her mom cheated on her dad right after they got married and how Brittany's father isn't her biological father but raised her anyway. Santana is a little more reserved with her family history, not really wanting to reveal how she has no relationship with her father or grandmother but loves her mom to death. She feels like it's inappropriate to share those things with her surrogate so she keeps them to herself, even as Brittany tells her secrets.

One night, Santana's friend Kurt has set her up on a blind date. She comes home from work and Brittany is sprawled out on the couch with her computer. She's started to gain a little bit of weight and Santana is excited, thinking that her baby is actually growing in there. Brittany's brow is furrowed and she seems hard at work on whatever assignment she's doing. Santana doesn't interrupt, she just goes into her bedroom and starts getting ready for her date. When she comes out an hour later, Brittany is watching _Chopped_ and she turns her head to look at Santana.

"Damn, you _do_ own something besides those pencil skirts and suit jackets you live in." Brittany raises her eyebrows appreciatively. "You look _hot!_ Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Well no shit, I didn't think you were going to sit around and watch Food Network dressed like that. You're obviously going to meet a dude."

"Uh yeah, no…I don't date _dudes._ I do have a date though."

"Maybe if you get laid you'll be less of a stick in the mud and let me eat Lucky Charms marshmallows for breakfast."

"I don't really feel comfortable talking about getting laid with you…"

"Still a stick in the mud." Brittany rolls her eyes. "Well, have fun…I'll be here, eating Snowballs and crushing on Amanda Freitag."

"Stop eating those damn Snowballs."

"Your baby is going to come out all cute and fat and you'll thank me."

Santana rolls her eyes and walks out the door, locking it behind her. In the elevator, she thinks about how she's probably never going to get Brittany to change her diet, but at least she's not smoking or drinking. It was against the surrogacy contract, but at least she isn't doing it anyway. She gets to the restaurant where she's supposed to meet Dani and Santana immediately recognizes her sitting at the bar from the picture Kurt had showed her. Trying to be smooth, she walks up to Dani and taps her on the shoulder, smiling seductively when she turns around, Santana finds her incredibly attractive.

"Hey."

"Hey! Santana, it's so good to meet you." Dani goes in for a hug and Santana is a little put off by it.

"Should we go to our table?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course."

Santana listens to Dani talk about her participation in a roller derby and her band and she sort of wonders what made Kurt think that they would be compatible. She thinks maybe it was a case of he knew another lesbian therefore he thought they would be attracted to each other, but Santana keeps thinking about getting home to watch _Beat Bobby Flay_ with Brittany. She knows that it's kind of ridiculous that she wants to hang out with her surrogate when she's on a date with a beautiful woman but she honestly can't find herself interested in anything Dani is saying.

"So tell me about you, Santana." Dani rests her chin on her hand and leans closer to Santana.

"Well…I'm having a baby."

"Excuse me, you're…what? You've been drinking wine all night."

"I have a surrogate. She's living with me right now."

"You have a woman living with you? And she's carrying your baby? You don't think that's weird?" Dani's face contorts in disgust and Santana immediately feels defensive.

"She's a really hard working student and she needed a place to live. What was I going to do, put her out on the street while she was carrying my baby?"

"Look, the fact that you're having a baby is enough to freak me out, then the fact that you're living with a surrogate? I'm sorry, that's kind of a deal breaker for me."

The rest of the date is really awkward as they finish their dinner knowing that nothing is going to go any further. Santana ends up paying the bill, waving off Dani's credit card, and she takes a cab back to her apartment. When she gets there, Brittany is sound asleep on the couch and though Santana tries to be quiet when she comes in, she ends up tripping over one of the lamps and waking up Brittany. She turns over on the couch and looks Santana in the face, raising a judgmental eyebrow that Santana is home before ten o'clock.

"Lemme guess, you criticized your date's choice to have the bacon wrapped scallops?"

"No." Santana rolls her eyes and sits down on the couch across from Brittany. "She wasn't really cool with the idea that I was having a baby."

"You told someone that on the first date? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What am I supposed to do? Not tell someone and then hey, surprise, in six months I'm having a baby?"

"You need to get some game, seriously. You don't have to be totally honest when you start dating someone."

"I played that in high school. I pretended to be straight, after that, I made a deal with myself that I'd never lie to another date again."

"Okay, dude." Brittany takes a deep breath. "Just because you're not telling the whole truth doesn't mean you're lying. It probably totally freaked your date out what you told her your whole life on your first date."

"Oh trust me, I didn't get a chance to tell her my whole life. She talked about herself for about an hour. She's in a roller derby and a band."

"You're way too uptight to date someone like that. I could date her. Can I get her number?"

"I'm not giving you Dani's number. That would be the weirdest thing ever. Although according to her, you living here is the weirdest thing ever."

"Please, it's not even weird. Even though I thought you were stuck up when I first met you, I kind of think you're cool. I mean, when you're not harping on me about what I eat or telling me that I can't have soda in my bedroom."

"Ants, Brittany, that gets ants."

"You live on the thirtieth floor." Brittany sits up and pulls down her shirt. "There's no way you're going to get ants."

"Ants can climb. I'm not trying to test whether or not they'll get this high."

"Whatever, don't change the subject. You need to loosen up a little. I mean seriously, take down your hair, it's probably why you're so serious all the time, your hair is pulling your face up into a scowl."

"You forget that the first time we met you were scowling at me." Santana arches an eyebrow.

"Well you almost killed me with the door. Also, I was in a really bad mood that day because I'd failed a test and I had a fight with Quinn about doing the whole surrogacy thing so…anyway, I'm totally going to take you out and make you have fun."

"Like on a date?"

"No, not on a date, you weirdo. To quote you, _that would be totally inappropriate_. But I'm not talking about this right now, because _Beat Bobby Flay_ is about to start. Are you watching or not?"

"Yes, I'm watching."


	4. Chapter 4

**Month 4:**

Brittany starts to show a lot earlier than Santana expected and she thinks it's because she's so tiny. Of course, this becomes a problem because Santana feels this intense desire to touch Brittany's belly but she refuses to cross that boundary and make physical contact with her. It's enough that Brittany is living in her guest room, that they end up watching television together most nights and she knows a lot about Brittany. It's going to make things more difficult after Brittany has the baby, she's sure of it. What is she supposed to do, throw her out on the street the minute she gives her the biggest thing she wanted? But then what if she stays? How confusing will that be for Santana's baby? They have to have a conversation about this but Santana is just freaked out about the actual process of doing it.

One evening, Santana comes home from work and Brittany is sitting on the couch in a blue sequined top. She notices Brittany's little belly and the two things don't seem to sync up with each other. Immediately, Santana wonders who Brittany is going out with and she feels…maybe a little jealous? Not of Brittany going out with someone, obviously, but of the fact that she's not going to get to sit on the couch and sneak peeks at Brittany's belly while she rests a bowl of popcorn on it. As much as she'd felt weird about Brittany living with her when she showed up at the door, she really loves the fact that she gets to see every second of her growing this baby.

"Get ready." Brittany announces, pushing herself up from the couch. "We're going out."

"What?"

"You heard me. My friend Mike got us on the guest list for this new club that's opening up and I told you I was going to take you out and get you to stop being such a stick in the mud."

"We're not going to a club. You're pregnant and I have work in the morning."

"One, there's no law against pregnant people going to clubs. Two, just call in sick for once in your life and have some fun."

"This is—"

"Totally inappropriate, I know. Just go get dressed, and leave your skirts and jackets in the closet. Wear that sexy dress you wore on your date."

For some reason, Santana listens to Brittany and she goes into her bedroom and gets dressed. She even lets her hair down and curls it, figuring if she's going to go to a club, she might as well go all out. She hasn't been in one since college and she's still a little confused how pregnant Brittany is going to have any fun—or really, how she herself is going to have any fun, since she totally hates the idea of being sweaty around anyone besides the people at the gym—but she's going and when she comes back out into the living room, Brittany wolf whistles.

Santana just rolls her eyes and she watches Brittany get back up from the couch. They go down to the street and get a cab and Santana feels super jittery about the whole thing. Brittany is wearing a different perfume than she usually does and the scent is a little overwhelming for Santana. She wonders why she feels so weird but then they pull up in front of the club and Brittany jumps out of the cab screaming and hugging a tall Asian man. Santana just follows dumbfounded and waits to be introduced.

"Mike, this is Santana, the mother of the kid that's making me fat."

"Santana! Hey, thanks for letting Britt stay with you! If I wasn't currently living with my girlfriend and my parents, I would have totally let her stay with me."

"It's perfectly fine." Santana nods, sticking out her hand to shake Mikes when he surprises her and pulls her in for a hug.

"C'mon, Britt's having your baby, we're practically family."

Mike leads Brittany and Santana into the club and Brittany pushes her way up to the bar. While Santana is perusing the drink selections, Brittany nudges the guy blocking her view of the bartender and gets his attention.

"Three shots of tequila, please." She orders and Santana quickly shakes her head.

"Brittany, you can't drink!"

"Neither can Mike, he has to work. These are for you."

"There's no way I'm doing three shots of tequila."

"I've seen you pound back the wine, this is no sweat. You need to loosen up a little and have a good time tonight."

"You know what?" Santana grabs the first shot off the bar and downs it. "The hell with it, what do I have to lose?"

"Hell yeah!" Brittany pumps her fist.

She does the three shots in quick succession and almost immediately feels the alcohol go to her head. It's definitely looser than she's been in a long time and she finds herself out on the dance floor with some girl. Brittany gives her a thumbs up from where she stands talking to Mike and then suddenly, in some kind of blur, Brittany is on the dance floor too. But she's not just dancing like someone in a club, she's actually really amazing and even though she's with another girl, Santana can't help but stare at her.

Santana figures that it would be totally innocent if she went over to dance with Brittany, after all, they're sort of becoming friends and she presses herself up against Brittany, watching as she runs her hands through her long blonde hair. It's a weird sensation when she feels the swell of her baby bump against her own stomach and when Mike hands her another shot, she does it without thinking. She puts her arms around Brittany's neck and even though she can hear herself saying that it's totally inappropriate, she keeps dancing.

"You're a really amazing dancer!" Santana yells over the music.

"Thanks! I did it in high school!"

"Why'd you stop?"

"Can't make any money dancing unless you're a stripper!"

At the thought of Brittany as a stripper, Santana realizes that she has to walk away. She lets go of her neck and finds the girls she was dancing with earlier, focusing her full attention on her and accepting another shot. She's probably drunker than she's ever been but she thinks she probably forgot what it felt like to have fun and she's actually enjoying herself. The girl she's dancing with is really hot, but she feels a little weird about dancing with her when Brittany is watching.

"You ready to go?" Brittany shouts, tapping Santana on the shoulder. "Club's about to close!"

"Um…" Santana looks at the girl, who she realizes she has no idea what her name is. "Yeah, you're problaly…probably tired."

They say goodbye to Mike and Brittany finds them a cab. Santana can hardly stand up she's so drunk and she leans against Brittany before she opens the door. She slides in and rests her head against the window, feeling so much more nauseous than she expected. Tequila never really agreed with her but once she did that first shot, she couldn't stop doing them. Maybe she really is boring and consumed by work and in a few months, she'll be consumed by motherhood too, so this is sort a last hurrah for her, going back to her sorority days and drinking like a crazy person in the bar. She feels Brittany's eyes on her even though her own are closed and she pops them open, watching as Brittany quickly looks away.

"I'm glad you made me come out tonight." Santana murmurs, just as her stomach starts to roil and she has to open the window to throw up out of it.

"Hey lady! No puking in my cab!" The driver screams, pulling over. "Out!"

"Hey, c'mon." Brittany argues. "She didn't throw up in the cab, she made it fully out the window."

"And got it all over the side of my cab. Get out now, both of you."

Santana trips her way out of the cab and she leans back on Brittany as she tries to walk. She vaguely realizes that they're not that far from her apartment, but in her current state, it feels like it's fifty miles away. To make things worse, she feels her stomach rumbling again and she leans over the nearest garbage can, puking her guts up. When she tries to lift her head, she realizes that her hair is being held back and she feels Brittany's belly against her back.

"Oh God, I'm so embarrassed." Santana starts to cry, then throws up again. "This is so inappropriate."

"Stop worrying about things being inappropriate." Brittany laughs. "I just watched you puke, I think we're past that."

"But…" She hiccups. "We signed a contract. That's legally—"

"Speaking of legally, you should probably let me text your boss so you don't have to go in in like…three hours."

"Oh God, oh God, oh God."

"Santana, can I ask you something." Brittany lets down her hair and steps back, giving her room to breathe.

"Uh huh."

"Did you have fun tonight?"

"I had a lot of fun."

"Then my work is done."


	5. Chapter 5

**Month 5:**

After making a total and complete fool of herself the night after she and Brittany went to the club, Santana is careful to keep the boundaries that she never should have crossed to begin with. She'll watch the occasional episode of TV with Brittany, but mostly she keeps to herself, going to work, retiring to her bedroom when she gets home, going out to brunch with her friend Mercedes on the weekends. Generally, she's just making a conscious effort to avoid Brittany, even at the expense of not being able to tell her to stop eating junk food and have a piece of fruit for once.

One night, she's in her room reading when she hears Brittany scream. Immediately, she jumps out of bed and runs to the living room. Brittany is laying with her legs up on the couch and her head on the floor and she's only wearing a sports bra and shorts. Santana swallows hard and goes to her side, thinking that she looks perfectly fine. Without saying a word, Brittany grabs Santana's hand and puts it on her stomach.

"What are you—?"

"Your kid just kicked me!"

"Oh my God! Brittany!" Santana squeaks, pressing her hand harder against Brittany's stomach until the baby kicks again. "My baby just kicked me!"

"Hey, you get a choice in the matter."

"Brittany, this is amazing. I can't believe I just got to feel that."

"So does this mean I get to wake you up every time it happens when I'm trying to sleep?"

"You can wake me up any time you want." Santana marvels at the feeling of her baby's kick, then realizes that she has her hand on Brittany's bare belly. She pulls away and clears her throat, remembering her whole boundaries thing. "Sorry, I'll just…you know."

"Why are you being weird?"

"I'm not being weird."

"You've been super weird for the last few weeks, don't pretend you haven't been."

"Look, Brittany, I'm just trying to establish some boundaries. Things are blurred enough with you living here, I shouldn't have gone out with you that night."

"So this is all about you being embarrassed about puking in that trashcan?" Brittany sits up on the couch and gives Santana a pointed look.

"No, it's not about me throwing me up in the trashcan. It's about the fact that you and I have a signed contract with the conditions of your surrogacy and I crossed a line."

"So if I tell you I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and you could totally come if you want, would that be crossing a line?"

"I…" Santana pauses, trying to balance whether it would be acceptable for her to go to the doctor with Brittany. It's for the baby after all and she thinks that would be completely within the bounds of professionalism. She hasn't heard the baby's heartbeat, Brittany is supposed to find out the sex of the baby at this appointment and…Santana really wants to go. "What time?"

"It's at one. I mean, you probably have court or whatever."

"I don't. You don't have to feel obligated to invite me though."

"I don't feel obligated to do anything." Brittany shook her head, picking up her soda from the coffee table. "I just felt like maybe you'd want to be there when I found out what you were having."

"That would be…amazing."

"You're obviously nervous about something, you're doing that weird talking thing again."

"No, I'm just really excited. I didn't think I'd be able to be there for that."

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in you. I thought you'd be the kind of person who put all of that crap in the contract."

"Gina wrote the contract." Santana shrugged. "I just figured it would be weird if I pushed for too much."

"Says the woman who told someone she was having a baby on the first day." Brittany rolled her eyes. "So are you picking me up for this appointment tomorrow and taking me out to lunch?"

"Brittany."

"Kidding. I'm kidding…unless the answer is yes."

"I'll get you at 11:30."

Santana can hardly sleep thinking about how she felt her baby kick and about how she's going to hear their heartbeat and find out if she was having a boy or a girl tomorrow afternoon. When she gets up in the morning, she goes into work and tells her partner that she's taking a half day. She feels jittery all morning and when she finally gets in the cab to pick Brittany up—though she's not really sure why she's doing that, since it was probably easier for her to meet her at the restaurant she chose for them to have lunch at—she feels like she's about to explode. As much as she loves her job, it's been a long time since she's been this excited and she really feels like she's getting ready to be a mother.

Through most of their lunch, Brittany does the talking. Santana is too nervous and Brittany has a lot to say. Santana doesn't even comment on the fact that she's drinking Coke, she just listens to her talk about what she's doing in her online classes. She forgets that the whole thing is unprofessional and just takes in everything that Brittany has to say. It's weird that she actually enjoys spending time with her, as much as she tries to convince herself that she doesn't.

When they get to the doctor, Santana feels a little bit sad seeing all of the happy couples in the waiting room. She realizes that she could have had this with someone if she hadn't focused her whole life on her career, but this baby is her second chance. She can do something that doesn't revolve around work, she can be the best mom there is. She doesn't have to feel sad that she's doing this alone because one day, she'll meet someone. One day, there'll be someone she can share her life and her baby's life with. Right now, she's here with Brittany, who is carrying her baby, and everything's going to be just fine.

"There sure are a lot of vaginas in this room." Brittany looks around at the posters. "Every time I'm in here, it freaks me the hell out."

"It's like they think we don't know where babies come out of."

"Right? I'm going to bring this up with the doctor."

"I…don't think that's necessary." Santana's cheeks color. "Maybe you should just let it go."

"So much for you loosening up." Brittany laughs. "I'm kidding, anyway. I already talked to her last time."

"You're kidding."

"I'm totally not."

The receptionist calls Brittany into the room and Santana follows sheepishly behind. She's not sure what her role is at this doctor's appointment and she doesn't want it to be weird. She waits in the hallway while Brittany changes into her gown and when she goes in, Brittany is laying on the examination table. For this weird, fleeting moment, Santana imagines that she's here with her partner and they're having this baby together but she quickly pushes that thought out of her head and sits down, crossing her legs.

"You look like you're in hell." Brittany tells her, putting her legs up in the stirrups and sliding down the table.

"What? No I don't."

'Dude, look at your face in the mirror. I've never seen someone look so miserable."

"I'm not miserable at all, I'm really happy."

"You're totally wishing I was someone else."

"How do you…?"

"Because this situation is weird, you suck at dates and you're married to your job."

"I don't think I've said this, but I'm really grateful you're doing this for me."

"I needed the money." Brittany shrugs. "Using my uterus to do it seemed like the best idea."

"Do you still resent me?"

"I never resented you. I just resented all rich people, but you kind of proved me wrong when you let me move in with you. You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I—" Santana starts, but before she can finish the sentence, Dr. Miller walks into the room.

"Brittany." Dr. Miller smiles. "You brought company."

"This is Santana, it's her baby."

"Ah, I see." She looks down at her charts. "Well I guess you're here to see the sex of your baby."

"Brittany invited me, so…"

Santana tries to hide her tears when she hears the baby's heartbeat, but she's really totally incapable. In a lot of ways, she's felt kind of detached from the whole process, but actually getting to be in this room is a huge deal for her. She loves that her baby has a strong heartbeat, that Brittany is keeping them safe and when it comes time for the sonogram, she's glued to the screen.

"Well, it looks like you're having a girl."

"A girl." Santana's jaw drops and the first thing she can think to do is wrap her arms around Brittany. "Brittany, I'm having a girl."


	6. Chapter 6

**Month 6:**

Although Santana's mother has insisted that she's going to throw her a baby shower, Santana decides that she's going to decorate the nursery herself. Whenever she has a free minute at work, she looks at ideas on the internet and she finally, after doing weeks of research, settles on black and white. One Saturday morning she gets up early and she goes to the hardware store to pick up painting supplies. She decides that instead of hiring someone to do the painting, she's going to do it herself and she clears out the whole of the room that she'll put the baby in and lays tarps down all over the hardwood floors.

She figures that the light is good in the morning to paint and she pours the grey paint in the tray. Putting her headphones in, she finds a rhythm and starts painting the walls. She's really excited about the fact that she's going to have a little baby girl in this room in a few months and she just wants it painted so she can buy the furniture and bedding that she picked out. After about an hour of painting, she sees Brittany out of the corner of her eye standing in the doorway and she turns around, seeing her in pajama pants and a tank top.

"You're painting yourself?" Brittany asks as Santana pulls out her headphones. "I'm shocked. You even get your groceries delivered."

"Hey, I can do things myself."

"Okay, but what's with the grey? Didn't you want to do like, pink or something?"

"Absolutely not, I'm doing a black and white nursery, it's good for a newborn's senses."

"Ew, for real? That sounds so boring."

"It's going to be beautiful, I've done a lot of research on this."

"Of course you have." Brittany laughs, not maliciously. "Want help?"

"You're pregnant, you don't have to paint."

"Please, I was just going to lay around in my pajamas and eat Fritos, you should be begging me to paint."

Santana laughs a little and keeps painting while Brittany goes to change. When she comes back, she grabs a new roller and dips it in the paint. She's definitely a lot less…methodical than Santana, but she manages to get it on the walls and Santana can't really complain. It's nice to have the help and she feels less like she's in this alone and even though she knows that Brittany is going to be gone in a few months and she might never see her again, it feels like they've become sort of friends.

"It feels so good to move my body." Brittany arches her back and touches the floor with her hands. "I've been sitting at my computer working on my finals for two weeks."

"How did you do this semester?"

"I think good. Last semester was really bad because I kept fighting with Quinn and it distracted me from everything I had to do."

"No offense, I don't know her or anything, but it feels you were really awful together."

"We started dating in high school so we pretty much grew apart in the nine years we were together. We were basically just together because it was easier than finding someone else, but then she kinda hated that I was trying to get my life together, even though she said she'd support me through it at first. She liked that I was dependent on her."

"What did you do before you went back to school?"

"I was the assistant manager at Aldo. I still get a discount there if you ever need shoes."

"Thanks, uh, I'll keep that in mind." Santana smiled a little. "Okay so I might be breaking my own rules about not asking really personal questions to you, but why did you decide to become a surrogate? When I first met you, you seemed like you really hated the idea of someone paying someone else to carry their baby."

"I'm telling you, I was just in a really bad mood that day. I started looking into it because I figured it would be a way for me to make some money while I was in school, I wasn't using my uterus or anything and then I started to feel like it would be kind of cool, giving someone a baby who couldn't have one."

"You changed my life." Santana says earnestly, painting a stripe on the wall. "I didn't even know I wanted kids until I found out I couldn't have them."

"I don't really get why you're single. You're gorgeous, you have a good job…"

"I've told you already. I have a job that I've been married to since I graduated law school. I made partner so quickly because I was always there. Everyone I dated had a problem with the fact that I worked so much. Nothing even really worked out for me romantically."

"Do you think that now you're going to work less? Or are you going to stick the kid in daycare forever and work into the night."

"That's a little judgmental."

"Sorry, I was a daycare kid. My parents worked like crazy to make money because they had no choice. You have boatloads of money, you could probably work a little less."

"I'm going to. I want to do the mom thing right. And if I meet someone along the way, that would be great."

"I think you will." Brittany breathes. "You're so not what I thought you were when we met."

"What about you? What are you going to do when you're done with this?"

"Well, I graduate in May, so hopefully I can just start my life over again. Date someone who doesn't suck, have a real job, get an apartment, you know…"

"You must be excited for that. Especially to be done being pregnant."

"I actually don't mind it that much. I'm living in the lap of luxury over here, how could I?"

"I'm glad you're here." Santana pays really close attention to the wall she's painting, not looking at Brittany. "I got to be a part of so many things I wouldn't have otherwise."

"You got to witness me eat Cheez-Doodles mixed in melted ice cream. That's an awesome experience you'll never forget."

"The most disgusting experience I've ever had."

"Hey, your kid wanted it. Just wait, her first word is going to be Ding-Dong."

"Or kale, I think it's more likely to be kale."

"Hey Santana." Brittany holds up the roller to her face. "Duck."

Santana doesn't duck fast enough and Brittany ends up painting a stripe down the whole front of her body. She screams, but she doesn't let Brittany win. Instead, she chases her with her own roller, flinging paint at her. They run around the room like that, Santana only pausing long enough to remember that the floors are covered, a moment that Brittany exploits and paints her hair grey. Finally, when Santana slips on the tarp and falls on her butt, she holds up her hands begging for mercy.

Both of them were covered in paint and neither of them could stop laughing. Santana can't remember the last time she'd had as much fun as running around her empty nursery with a paint roller from Brittany. From the floor, she breaks out in a big grin and Brittany offers her a hand up, putting down her roller to show that they've really reached a truce. Santana assesses the situation and runs her hand through her painted hair.

"I can't believe you painted me!" She gasps for air, making Brittany laugh harder.

"Who even paints without having a paint fight?"

"Normal people."

"Absolutely not, normal people throw paint at each other. It's the only thing that's fun about it."

"Brittany, I'm forty years old."

"So what? All the fun died when you were thirty-five? Nah, it's you, so probably like nineteen."

"I have to admit, that was really fun."

"Hey." Brittany leans in, stroking Santana's cheek with her thumb. "You've got a little paint right here."


	7. Chapter 7

**Month 7:**

It's really weird, but Santana can't stop thinking about the paint fight she had with Brittany. Or rather, she can't stop thinking about the way Brittany touched her face when they were finished. She thinks that she's possibly really sex starved or maybe doing exactly what she swore she wasn't going to do with Brittany and getting too close. But it's weird, as much as she loves to follow the rules, she just can't force herself away from hanging out with Brittany. She loves watching crappy TV, going to doctor's appointments and the truth is, she's really going to miss her when she's gone.

One afternoon, Santana is at work when her phone rings. She's surprised to see that it's Brittany. For as much time as they spend together in Santana's apartment, they never really contact each other by phone. Immediately, she gets a little nervous and she leans back in her chair to answer it, trying not to sound like her voice is shaking as she does.

"Hello?"

" _Hey, Santana. It's me, Brittany."_

"Hi. What's going on?"

"I'm kind of in the hospital."

"What?" Santana almost falls backwards in her chair and then she jumps up.

" _They don't think it's a big deal. I'm just waiting to have a sonogram. I slipped on the ice when I went to the store and I just figured it's what you'd want me to do."_

"Brittany. Are you okay?"

" _Yeah, I mean, I'm totally fine. I just have a giant bruise on my ass. But I'm seven months pregnant, so like, they have to check everything out and just make sure nothing went wrong."_

"You're at Mt. Sinai?"

" _In the emergency room, yeah."_

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

Santana barely gives her receptionist an explanation before she runs out of the office. It's sort of snowy and getting a cab is hard so she runs five blocks before she finds one. She tells the cab driver that if he can get her to Mt. Sinai in five minutes or less then he'll get a huge tip and she's glad that he actually obliges. She's terrified that something has happened to her baby and she hates that she has absolutely no control over anything. Not that she thinks that Brittany could have controlled falling, but if she was able to have this kid in her own body then at least she wouldn't have to worry about a whole other person when something goes wrong. When she finally finds Brittany on the hospital bed with her coat still on because it's cold in there, she breathes a sigh of relief and rushes to her side.

"That was less than ten minutes." Brittany tells her. "I timed you."

"Would have been faster if you could ever get a cab in this shitty weather. Are you bleeding? Are you having contractions?"

"Nope. I told you, I really don't think it's a big deal."

"You don't know that, Brittany. And I'm not just talking about for the baby. If something goes wrong, you could be in danger too."

"You think I didn't research the risks of being a surrogate? I know that you think I'm kind of stupid because I eat junk food and don't have a fancy schmancy law degree."

"What? When did I ever say that I think you're dumb?"

"Please, you don't have to say it. And I know you probably were pissed at me the whole way over here that I went out in the snow and put the kid in danger."

"Seriously, stop putting words in my mouth. I'm just as worried about you as I am about the baby and it's really unfair of you to think that I would be mad at you for an accident."

"I'm sorry." Brittany starts to cry and Santana realizes that her reverting back to her old bite was just evidence that she was terrified. "I didn't mean it."

"Brittany." Santana sits down in the chair beside the bed and she can't help but take Brittany's hand. "It's not your fault. And like you said, it's probably no big deal."

"You're supposed to be the one who's irrationally worried about everything." Brittany sniffled.

"I'm really trying hard to remain calm."

The wait for the doctor feels like forever and Santana ends up running to get Brittany a bag of chips because she's hungry. It's really weird for Santana when they make her leave when Brittany can get a sonogram because she's not her partner, even though Brittany asks for her to stay. She sits in the hallway and before she knows it, Brittany is walking out of the curtained off area in the emergency room with a relaxed smile on her face.

"Everything is totally fine, she's moving around in there and the doctor gave me these ice packs and some safe painkillers for my ass."

"Oh, thank God." Santana wraps Brittany up in a hug and before she realizes it, she's smelling her hair. It smells like vanilla and for some unexplainable reason, she takes another whiff. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just really tired after everything. I swear, this kid sucks the life out of me on a good day, but on a day like this I'm dead on my feet."

"Do you want to go back to my apartment and order takeout?"

"You don't have to do that, you know."

"Do what?"

"I don't know, it just feels super coupley to me."

"What? No." Santana stammers a little. "I just know you had a shitty day and we have to eat dinner so you may as well sit on the couch where you'll be comfortable. I'll go sit in my office and finish this case I'm working on if it makes you feel better."

"Well now you're just making it weird."

"What? How am I the one that's make it weird? You're the one that said it was coupley to eat takeout together."

"I'm sorry. Look, maybe it's just that I haven't had sex in a really long time and everything feels like something it's not."

"Oh my God, why are you talking to me about your sex life?"

"Were you listening?" Brittany rolls her eyes. "I have no sex life. I'm the size of a humpback whale."

"I seriously just wanted to order dinner."

"You should be more sex positive."

"Excuse me, I'm sex positive."

"I said the word sex and you like, completely freaked out, dude."

"Look, can we just have dinner?" Santana takes a deep breath. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore."

Santana gets a cab and they head back to the apartment. Brittany immediately sprawls out on the couch with her ice packs and Santana goes into the kitchen to get the delivery menus. She rarely orders take out because of all the MSG but she's not in the mood to cook after the day they had and now everything feels really weird for her. She doesn't get why she feels so weird around Brittany but it seems to be getting worse by the day.

It takes Brittany forty-five minutes to decide what she wants to order and Santana tries not to get frustrated waiting. When the food finally comes, she goes to get plates but before she can even get back into the living room, Brittany is eating out of the cartons. She rolls her eyes a little but she sits down on the couch, spooning lo mein onto her plate and trying to just relax with her glass of wine.

"Do you know how jealous I am of that wine right now?"

"Do you want me to put it away?"

"No, no, drink. I mean seriously I'd be drinking after that scare today. I'm…I'm really sorry about it, Santana."

"You don't have to keep apologizing, Brittany. If anything, it was the ice's fault."

"I don't think you can blame the ice." Brittany laughs. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Always." It just slips out of Santana's mouth but for some reason, it feels like that's the only thing there is to say.

"When I first did this, I didn't think I'd really feel any kind of way. I mean, it's not my kid, you know? Not feeling anything about it is kind of a prerequisite but I don't think I've ever felt so scared as I did before and I think it's because I was terrified of disappointing you."

"I…why?"

"I don't know. There's just…something."

"Something." Santana repeats.

"I guess this is what you were talking about when I moved in, like how this was really unprofessional or whatever. If you were just a stranger, I wouldn't care so much about you."

"If it's any consolation, I've really started to care about you too?"

"Really?" Brittany breathes and for just a moment Santana feels like she's about to lean in and kiss her.

"I should…really take this in my office and finish the case."


	8. Chapter 8

**Month 8:**

After the weird exchange the night Brittany was in the hospital, Santana makes a really big point to avoid Brittany. As much as Brittany was the one who looked like she was going to make the move, Santana had wanted it and that makes her feel really weird. She shouldn't be developing feelings for the woman carrying her baby—as weird as that sounded when she actually said it in her head—but somehow it's happening. There's just something about that woman that Santana can't shake and she figures the only way she's going to survive until the baby is born is to throw herself into work as much as she can.

Santana is absolutely dreading the shower that her mother is throwing for her but as much as she protested, claiming that she didn't need people to buy her gifts, her mom was insistent. She just felt kind of weird about it since someone completely unconnected to her was carrying her baby but there is just no talking to her mother. Though it might be weird, Santana invites Brittany. Even though she's really trying to avoid her, she just feels like it would be awful if she went off to her baby shower and left Brittany to her own devices. At first, Brittany's a little strange about coming, but then she agrees and Santana breathes a weird sigh.

The morning of the shower, Santana spends a lot of time getting ready. Thinking of what Brittany would say, she pushes aside her skirts and suit jackets and finds a simple cream and grey dress in the back of her closet. Maybe it's not the traditional frilly baby shower dress, but at least it's not black and nothing about this baby having is traditional. When Santana goes out into the living room, she's surprised to see Brittany in a relatively conservative dress. Normally she's in her fun printed t-shirts and jeans and Santana can't even believe something like that existed in her wardrobe.

"You look really nice." It slips out of Santana's mouth even though she feels really weird commenting on Brittany's appearance.

"Thanks. I figured I needed to buy something that was appropriate. I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb at this thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I assume everyone there is going to be like you, and then there's me, I don't know, I feel weird."

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Santana assures her.

"Do you want me to come? I mean, this is all about you, and I'm going to walk in all big and pregnant."

"I don't even want this shower, Brittany. I'm not worried about you taking attention away from me."

"Are you sure? You've been really weird…"

"Just busy." Santana shrugs. "I'm trying to get as much done as I can before the baby comes."

"Okay then." Brittany sounds strange and Santana can't help but feel like Brittany's annoyed about it. But she doesn't want to say anything about it, she doesn't want to make this a thing and instead, she just grabs her purse and walks toward the door.

The shower is being held at a restaurant in Lower Manhattan and Santana gets a cab to take them there. She's so glad her mother didn't try to surprise her because she probably would have flipped out if that was the case. At least she's prepared for all her aunts to talk about why she decided to do this on her own instead of settling down and for her friends to look at her sort of sympathetically. Only Mercedes has been really supportive and she figures she'll just stick by her as much as possible throughout the whole thing.

Much to Santana's embarrassment, her mother is all over Brittany when they arrive. She insists on touching her belly a thousand times and cooing over her granddaughter who isn't even born yet. Santana goes to the bar and orders a scotch and soda, figuring the only good thing about not being able to carry her own baby is the fact that she can drink at the baby shower. Her aunts are actually better than she expected, keeping their opinions about her situation to themselves. Brittany kind of blends into the background and Santana feels this intense desire to check on her but she just can't find the time amid talking to everyone else.

After she's forced to open up the gifts in front over everyone, acting like a wipe warmer is all she ever dreamed of and more, her mother taps on a wine glass and insists that she give a speech. Santana rolls her eyes to herself but then she notices that across the room, Brittany noticed and is laughing into her hand. There's something about that which calms her down and Santana stands up from the giant chair that was wheeled into the front of the room and holds up her scotch.

"I just wanted to thank everyone for coming, it really means a lot to me that you took time out of your busy schedule to be here for my baby shower. I know that I'm not doing this traditionally, and I'm really grateful to Brittany for giving the opportunity to be a mom. This is the thing, the whole idea of having a baby is a huge risk. I'm not normally as risk taker, but sometimes, you just have to do it. I think maybe I'm learning that the best things happen when you step outside of your comfort zone and I'm really glad to be on this path."

Maybe Santana is a little tipsy when the shower ends, but she thanks everyone at the door and arranges for an Uber XL to help get all the gifts back to her apartment. Brittany sort of shifts between feet waiting for Santana and she's surprised how subdued the normally outspoken Brittany is in the midst of all of Santana's friends and family. They get in the truck together and Brittany continues to be really quiet. Santana chalks it up to the fact that maybe she's tired, she is eight and a half months pregnant after all and she doesn't say anything about it.

Once everything is upstairs and tucked into the baby's nursery, Santana and Brittany find themselves on the couch together. Brittany doesn't bother to turn on the television and Santana finds the silence little unsettling. She goes to touch the remote, but then Brittany's hand is n top of hers and she jumps a little from the contact.

"Did you mean what you said today, about how the best things happen when you step outside of your comfort zone?" Brittany asks, staring intently at Santana's face.

"I…I don't know how to answer that."

"I think with a yes or a no." Brittany laughs a little, then burps. "Sorry. I have so much gas right now from that pasta."

"I guess it's a yes. I was kind of put on the spot having to give a speech, but having a baby was a really big risk and even though she's not here yet, I feel like the risk was worth it."

"I'm going to take a risk."

"What kind of risk? I mean, I feel like you've already taken some huge risks going back to school, becoming a surrogate—"

"Santana, just shut up for a second."

"What?"

"Just shut up." Brittany leaned in and before Santana knew it, Brittany's lips were on hers. In her head, she could hear her brain screaming about how unprofessional this all is but her body reacted to Brittany's, kissing her back.

Everything about the feel of Brittany's lips on Santana's own felt right and she kept kissing, kissing, kissing, weaving her hands into Brittany's hair and pulling her closer. Brittany slipped her tongue into Santana's mouth and Santana curled her own around it. Then, she felt Brittany's belly press against her and she was brought back to reality. She shouldn't be doing this, she should be the one who is responsible and she pulls back, studying Brittany's face.

"Wow, that was really good." Brittany murmurs, arching her back to likely get rid of a cramp.

"Brittany, we—"

"Don't say we shouldn't do this. I know that felt as right for you as it felt for me. I know that you've been weird because everything between us is getting too real."

"How did you…?"

"I'm good at reading people. As soon as I almost kissed you that night, you started completely avoiding me. You missed the season finale of _Beat Bobby Flay."_

"I can't have the feelings I feel for you. I just can't."

"Well that's ridiculous." Brittany rolls her eyes. "Or do you think I'm just a baby maker and not a person?"

"It's not like that at all. Of course I see you as a person."

"Then there's no reason why you can't fall in love with me."

"Love? I…"

"Look, figure your shit out. You can't kiss me back like that and then act like you don't have feelings for me. I'm going in my room." Brittany stood up and then collapsed back down onto the couch. "Holy shit."

"What?"

"I think my water just broke."


	9. Chapter 9

**Month 9:**

As much as Santana has read about childbirth and logically knows that she probably doesn't have to race to the hospital, she can't help herself. She helps Brittany pack her bag, which she'd been telling her to do for weeks, and she goes downstairs to get a cab. Right now, she can't even think about the fact that she and Brittany just kissed and she has all of these feelings she has to deal with, she can just think about the fact that her baby girl is coming and she needs to be prepared for that.

Santana can't believe how calm Brittany is in the cab, when she's totally freaking out. She's glad though that she doesn't have to calm her down because she isn't sure how she'd be able to calm her down when everything is so weird between them. She can feel Brittany looking at her, but she just can't look her in the face. She wasn't supposed to fall for her surrogate and yet here she is, about to witness this woman having her baby who she may or may not have fallen in love with. It's a lot and she takes a deep breath.

"We can just forget about everything." Brittany murmurs, clearly breathing through a contraction.

"Okay." Santana nods.

"Okay then."

Santana can tell that Brittany is pissed off about it but she leans back in her seat and rides out the contraction. They get to the hospital and Santana had arranged a private room for Brittany which is luckily available. She gets brought upstairs and Santana follows behind the wheelchair that the nurse pushes. When the doctor does the first exam, Santana steps out of the room so Brittany can have some privacy and she paces up and down the hallway. She's about to be a mother, this is the biggest day of her life, and she feels like she might pass out.

When the doctor leaves, Santana goes back into the room and sees that Brittany is playing something on her phone. She's just so confused about what she's meant to do throughout this whole ordeal and she wonders if she shouldn't just go down to the waiting room and let Brittany do her own thing. But at the same time, there's no one to coach her through if she's not there and she just doesn't feel right about it so she sits down beside the bed and takes out her own phone.

"The doctor said it's going to be a fast labor." Brittany tells Santana. "I'm already four centimeters dilated, and I guess I'm supposed to get to ten?"

"Yeah, you're supposed to get to ten."

"If you wanted to call anyone or anything, I'm fine." Brittany squirms awkwardly on the bed and Santana sucks in a breath.

"No, I mean, I don't really want a whole thing here. I just want to meet my daughter without my mother and my friends and everyone else having breathing down my neck."

"Okay."

"Look, Brittany, I don't want this to be weird tonight."

"It's not going to be weird. I'm going to have the baby, you're going to take her home and I'm going to move out. You never have to see me again after we get through this."

"Brittany—"

"It's fine. I have a job to do that I'm getting paid for. That's all this is, right?"

"Brittany—"

"Let's just forget it."

Santana doesn't know what to say, so she just sits there. She feels like a total failure. She couldn't have a baby herself so she hired someone and managed to screw that up too. As much as she doesn't want to think about her feelings for Brittany, they're filling up the room and every single time she looks at her, her heart beats too fast. They don't really talk as Brittany's labor progresses and maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. That's probably how it would have been if things didn't get all screwed up anyway but at least she can bring her ice chips and tell her to breathe through her contractions.

The doctor comes in again and Brittany asks Santana to stay this time. She stays in her chair and listens as the doctor says that she's at seven centimeters and still progressing quickly. She feels like there's not a lot of time for her to say something to fix this but she just has no idea what will make it right.

"I want to call my mom." Brittany says, breaking the tension in the room.

"Okay, I'll step out."

"You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to give you some privacy."

Santana goes out into the hallway and figures even though she doesn't want anyone to come, she should at least call Mercedes and let her know. If Santana tells her not to come, Mercedes won't and that's why she appreciates her so much as a friend. She takes her phone out of her pocket and dials, waiting for four rings until she finally picks up.

" _You survived the shower."_ Mercedes says when she answers.

"And I might actually survive the birth. I'm at the hospital, Brittany's in labor."

" _No way! That's awesome. Do you want me to come down there?"_

"I think I'd rather just be here by myself. I'm not even calling Maribel, she'll come with an entourage and I don't need that today."

" _Something sounds off about you. Are you alright?"_

"Mercedes." Santana takes a breath. "I think I made a huge mistake."

" _Having a baby? Because…it's a little late to change your mind about that."_

"Brittany and I kissed before."

" _Well that was only a matter of time."_

"Wait, what?"

" _You've been so clearly in love with her for months."_

"I don't know what you're talking about."

" _Santana, I've never heard anyone talk about someone the way you talk about Brittany without being in love with them. And I know you, you're probably freaking out because she's technically working for you right now and everything has to be just so in your world, but you just gave this whole speech about taking risks. Take a risk for her and maybe you'll find yourself actually happy."_

"I'm having a baby right now."

" _So what? You think your baby is going to care that you took a risk? If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. At least you can say you went for it."_

"I don't know if I can do that. Look, she's off the phone in there, I have to go."

" _Fine. Good luck."_

Santana hangs up the phone and goes back into Brittany's room. She is in the middle of a contraction and Santana can't help but take her hand to help her through it. When she flops back on the bed, Brittany looks up at Santana and the way she looks just takes Santana's breath away. She doesn't know if she can really live without telling Brittany that she's in love with her, but at the same time, the timing just feels so damn wrong.

"I'm going to go back to Ohio for a while." Brittany murmurs, clutching her belly.

"What?"

"My mom thinks it's a good idea. I think…I could use a little TLC after this."

"You don't have to feel like I'm going to throw you out, Brittany. You can stay for…as long as you need."

"You're going to have a baby, Santana. You don't want me hanging around."

Santana is just about to say something back when the nurse comes in the room and interrupts. She says that she wants to take Brittany down to delivery and Santana takes what feels like the hundredth deep breath of the day. It is really happening, she is going to have her baby and everything else will have to wait. She follows the nurse as she wheels Brittany down the hall and she feels like all she can do is look at her feet. This is real, so real, and in just a short period of time she will be holding her baby girl.

"Make it stop!" Brittany screams once a particularly hard contraction hits her. "Please, make it stop!"

"We've given you all the medication we possibly can, Brittany. You're almost there."

"Listen, Dr. Miller, I don't care what you have to do—"

"Brittany, look at me." Santana takes her hand and squeezes it. "You're so close, you're doing amazing. I promise, you can do this."

"How do you know that?" Tears stream down her face and she clenches Santana's hand really hard.

"Because I just do. You've made it this far, it's just a little while longer, really."

"I don't know why I thought this was a good idea." She cries.

"You made my life so much better by doing it."

There's a charged moment between them and then Dr. Miller tells Brittany that the baby is crowning. Everything feels like it's happening so fast and before Santana can even respond to her, the nurse is holding the most beautiful baby girl she's ever seen in her arms. Brittany lets go of Santana's hand and pats the back of it, silently telling her to go see her new baby and when she does, she cries harder than she ever has in her life. She takes the baby in her arms and kisses her little forehead.

"Hi, baby." She murmurs. "You're here."

Santana is so lost in the world of her new daughter's face that she doesn't realize that they take Brittany out of the room. She holds her and she sings to her and even though she has no idea what she's going to call her, she's totally and completely in love. Finally, the nurse taps Santana on the shoulder and tells her that they need to do some tests on the baby and then they'll bring her up to the nursery where she can see her. Santana doesn't want to let go, but she knows that she has to and she kisses the baby one last time before handing her over. Once the baby is out of her arms, she realizes that Brittany is gone and she realizes that they must have brought her back to the room she came from. Inhaling sharply, Santana walks down the hall and sees Brittany with her head against the pillow looking totally and completely exhausted.

"Can I come in?" Santana knocks on the door frame and Brittany nods. "You okay?"

"Eh, you know, just shot a seven pound watermelon out of my vagina, so I've been better."

"I, uh, just wanted to thank you for everything you did. She's perfect, and I'm in love with her."

"Did you name her yet? Is it like…Dickens or something dorky?"

"I didn't name her yet." Santana laughs a little. "I haven't really had the chance to get to know her, so I wanted to wait."

"Will you text me and tell me what you decide later?"

"Brittany."

"Look, Santana, we don't have to pretend anymore, okay? I'm going to send Mike over to get my stuff and then I'm on a flight to Ohio in two days."

"Don't go." Santana whispers.

"What?"

"I don't want you to go. Brittany, I've been trying not to feel this way for all of this time, but I'm totally and completely head over heels in love with you. This was never supposed to happen but it did, and now I don't want you to go to Ohio. I want you to stay. You don't have to live with me if you don't want to or you think that's weird, but please don't leave New York. We're just getting started."

"You really want to have something with me? This isn't just because I gave birth to your baby?"

"No, it's because you're you and you're the exact opposite of who I thought I'd fall in love with, but I did, and now I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too." Brittany murmurs, putting her hand on the back of Santana's neck. "And I'm in love with you too."

"So you'll stay?"

"Yes." Brittany pulls Santana down for a kiss and she doesn't pull back for a long while. "I'll stay."


	10. Epilogue

In the six months after her daughter Chloe was born, Santana feels like her entire universe has changed. She's gone from being mostly alone and being sort of addicted to her job to having a baby girl to take care of, a girlfriend to see and a whole list of never ending errands to run. Brittany never got on the plane to Ohio. Even though she'd agreed to stay the day that Chloe was born, Santana had been a little concerned that she'd change her mind and leave the minute she was checked out of the hospital. But she didn't. She came home with Santana and stayed there for two weeks until she was recovered enough to move out.

As much as Santana really wanted Brittany to stay with her, she didn't push anything on her. She knew that there was going to be a big adjustment period while Santana got used to her daughter and eventually, they both decided that it would just be easier if they started dating instead of jumping right in to living together like a married couple. So Brittany took the money that she got from being a surrogate—Santana was glad that it was already set aside for her so there was no weirdness about that—and she found a little place in a neighborhood she could afford. It was unspoken, but both Brittany and Santana kind of suspected that she wouldn't be there for very long, that the intimacy they'd already shared in their relationship propelled them past the traditional start and that eventually, they'd be living together.

Where Chloe is concerned, Brittany is great with her. Santana had worried that it might be weird for Brittany, spending time with the baby she carried that isn't hers, but it hasn't even been a thing. Brittany is just Brittany to her and Chloe absolutely adores her, lighting up whenever she comes into the room. After Santana, Brittany is Chloe's favorite person, probably because she spends the secondmost amount of time with her, with all the days they spend doing things together and the nights Brittany ends up spending at Santana's place. All in all, the relationship has been good and more than being a girlfriend, Santana absolutely adores being a mom.

"Alright, Miss Chloe." Santana has the baby laid out on her bed as she pulls on little leggings and a long sleeved shirt. She thinks of how every single sleepless night, every panicked trip to the doctor's office or the emergency room, every time she's wanted to tear her hair out because being a single mom is _hard_ is worth it. "We're going over to Brittany's today because she insists that she has the better TV and she wants to watch the football game there. She didn't really care that I said Lopez girls aren't into football. And guess what? If it means we get to hang out with her, then I think we can live through the football game, what do you think?"

Chloe babbles away on the bed and Santana picks her up and kissed all over her face. From the moment she was born, Santana has been unable to believe the depth of love that she feels for this child but as she snuggles her little face into Santana's chest, her best way of showing affection, the love she feels for her swells even more. Once she grabs a jacket for herself and one for Chloe out of the closet, she slips the baby bag over her shoulder and goes down to get a cab. She still can't get used to the idea that babies don't have to be in car seats in taxis and as usual, she clutches Chloe close to her chest, despite the fact that her daughter would rather look around than be squished.

They get to Brittany's apartment and Santana lets herself in with the key that Brittany had given her a month ago. Santana had never taken her key back from Brittany, but the two of them felt like there was something symbolic about Brittany presenting Santana with a key to her apartment and Santana cherished that moment the way she did all the other big things in her relationship with Brittany.

"Babe?" Santana calls out. "We're here!"

"In the shower!" Brittany calls back and Santana props Chloe up on the floor on the Boppy pillow that they'd bought to keep there among all of the toys that Brittany keeps acquiring for her. "Wanna come in?"

"Don't I wish?" Santana mumbles under her breath, then looks down at Chloe again. "I don't want to leave Chlo alone, should I order pizza?"

"Already done!" She shouts. "I knew if I waited for you, you'd insist on paying for it, and since it was my idea to watch the game, I wanted to."

Santana just rolls her eyes, knowing that Brittany doesn't really have the money, but she never argues with her when she wants to do something small. She sits down and watches the pre-game show, stealing glances at Chloe who whacks away at the floor with a rattle. When Brittany comes out, she's wearing a Dolphins jersey and her hair is in a wet ponytail but Santana thinks she looks gorgeous. She stands up and kisses her, then Brittany leans down and scoops Chloe up into her arms, blowing raspberries on her belly.

"Hey you." She makes the baby giggle. "I got you a present."

"Britt, you really need to stop doing that."

"She needed her first jersey, Santana."

"You and I have a very different definition of need." Santana can't help but laugh and watched as Brittany presents Chloe with a tiny jersey that matched hers. "That's actually really cute. I don't get the Dolphins thing though, you're from Ohio."

"Okay, so this is going to sound kind of dumb…but when I was a teenager, I was convinced that Dolphins were just the gay version of sharks. Then I started getting into football and it seemed only natural that they'd be my team."

"That's cute." Santana kisses her again. "What do you think, Chlo? Should we put on our present from Brittany?"

Chloe grasps for the jersey and Santana carefully slips it over her head. She takes a step back and admires her two favorite girls dressed in matching jerseys. Then the game comes on and Brittany gets super into it, cheering and shouting—mostly shouting, it is the Dolphins after all—and totally getting riled up. Santana goes to the door to get the pizza, carrying Chloe with her and when she gets back to her spot on the couch, Brittany is slumped back in a depression.

"Damn, I wanted them to win for Chloe's first game."

"Babe, she's six months old, it's okay. You'll have lots of games to watch with her."

"Ugh, I know…I just wish they didn't suck."

"You're really cute when you watch football."

"You've called me cute a lot of times today, you know."

"Well, if the shoe fits…" Santana shrugs. "So, can I interrupt the game? Or are you one of those people where I'm not allowed to talk?"

"No, it's fine, you can totally interrupt the game. I don't even care."

"Okay…" Santana trails off, not really believing her. "It can wait until after, if you want."

"Are you breaking up with me? Because then that could wait approximately…forever."

"What would even make you think that?"

"I don't know…I'm just checking."

"It's actually kind of the opposite of breaking up with you."

"Oh my God." Brittany yelps. "Are you proposing?"

"Okay, whoa, if you think when I propose to you it's going to be over a pizza and a football game, you're seriously mistaken."

" _When_ you propose to me? Who said you get to be the one who proposes?"

"It's a given, I'm going to propose. Don't even try to fight me on it."

"I totally will try to fight you, but if it's not happening now, you can continue."

"Look, I was just thinking about how you were going on and on yesterday on the phone about how you have the good TV here and all of that and why don't we just put the good TV at my apartment?"

"Why? You don't like coming here? Is it because of the time we found mouse poop on Chloe's bear?"

"No, Britt, I like coming here, even with your…critters. I just mean do you think it's time we move in together? I miss you living with me. I know I have an infant, but she's sleeping through the night now and she's in her own room and just…I'd be really happy to have you move in. And so would Chloe."

"Didn't you hate living with me? Once I had a powder fight with myself in your living room. There's a lot of baby powder around now, I see Chloe's diaper bag." Brittany's eyes widen and Santana laughs.

"I never hated living with you. I hated some of the crazy stuff that you did, but I actually really enjoyed living with you. You bring out the fun in me and ever since you moved into this place you've been a lot more responsible. You're great for Chloe, I talked it over with her, she wants you to move in too."

"You talked it over with your six month old?"

"I did. She said _Mama, I love Brittany, she should live with us."_

"Did you say that?" Brittany scooped up Chloe from the floor. "You really want me to come live in your apartment?"

"We do. A lot."

"Okay…then I will."

"Yeah?" Santana grinned.

"Yeah."


End file.
